Missing Santa Clarita woman's body found at crash site at bottom of ravine

The body of missing 19-year-old Santa Clarita woman Sarah Alarid was found Wednesday near her crashed car at the bottom of a steep ravine in the Angeles National Forest, officials said.

Her car was found shortly before 10 a.m. off Sand Canyon Road near the Bear Divide Access Road.

There were no signs of foul play and it seemed Alarid had been thrown from the car as it skidded off the road and a couple of hundred feet down a hillside, according to Lt. Dave Dolson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

"It appears to be an accident," Dolson told reporters near the scene.

Once detectives were certain her death was an accident, they planned to turn investigation of the crash over to the California Highway Patrol.

Alarid had been missing since about 3 a.m. on New Year's Day, when she left a New Year's party in her 2002 silver Ford Focus after having a fight with an ex-boyfriend.

The party was in the Shadow Pines neighborhood of Canyon Country, at a friend's house on Poppy Meadow Street.

Her disappearance triggered a widespread search effort by friends and family members, with fliers put up in locations throughout the Santa Clarita region and the launching of websites and Facebook pages.

Her uncle, Brian Alarid of Torrance, said the spot where Sarah was found was about 10 minutes away from the New Year's party she had attended.

It was not on her way home. But if she wasn't in a good mood, he said, she might have wanted to come to a place she knew well, not far from her old house.

"Maybe she just wanted to come up here and hang out for a little bit," Brian Alarid told reporters Wednesday near the crash site. "It's a nice view from up here."

He spoke before he had learned for sure the body found near the car was that of his niece.

Dolson said deputies in a sheriff's helicopter spotted Alarid's car while they were on their way to another call, the report of a possible shallow grave in Big Tujunga Canyon.

The grave did not seem to have any connection to Alarid, Dolson said. No human remains were found near the grave, officials said.

Inspector Brian Riley, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman, said sheriff's officials called firefighters at 9:52 a.m. Wednesday to report the car. The spot is about midway between Santa Clarita and the San Fernando Valley.

A convoy of seven coroner's vehicles, including a K-9 unit, drove up to the scene just before 12:30 p.m.

Gina Martin, one of those who'd been looking for Alarid for more than a week, said she's known the family since Sarah was 13.

"Sweet kid, not into drugs or anything like that," Martin said. "Good in school. She was not someone you expect this to happen to."

Martin's husband, Scott Allen, is a U.S. Forest Service fire captain who works for Alarid's father, Mike, who's superintendent at the Bear Divide Hotshots station.

Allen and Martin, who had a stack of fliers in their car, said they'd been driving around the area looking for Alarid since last week.

"We took every road we know, even ones that we have keys for and the public doesn't," Martin said.

Allen said he's been trained to look for signs of cars driving off the narrow canyon roads, such as skid marks. But he hadn't seen anything like that while looking for Alarid.

He said the canyon gets narrower and steeper as it goes.

"It's a windy road," Allen said. "You've got to take your time and drive slow."

It was familiar territory for Alarid, whose family used to live by the fire station before buying a house in Canyon Country.

Still, on two Facebook pages created and monitored by friends and family for Alarid - "Where's Sarah Alarid" and "FIND Sarah Alarid" - some speculated black ice on the winding road may have been a factor.

A candlelight vigil to honor Alarid had been scheduled for Wednesday evening in Canyon Country.

Friends and family who established the Facebook page (facebook.com/wheresSarahAlarid) to help in the search for Alarid posted a message Wednesday afternoon thanking the community, law enforcement, firefighters and others for their support. They also asked people to take down the posters and fliers that had been put up in the community.

"We love and miss Sarah very much!" the message said "Please respect the family's time of grieving. Not only is this a tragedy for the family but also for the community and we understand that. Comfort and prayers are needed now for all.

Thank you, The Alarid Family."

Allen described Sarah Alarid as "fun, outgoing, a little shy," but said he didn't know her well. He's worked for Mike Alarid for five years.

"He seems like an awesome father," Allen said. "He takes care of (the firefighters) like we were his kids."

Mike Alarid showed up at the scene about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday. He got out of an SUV driven by someone else, then into a sheriff's car, which drove him past the police tape. He was at the scene for about 20 minutes and did not stop to speak to reporters on his way in or out.

Dolson said detectives had little information about what happened after Alarid left the party.

They checked her cellphone records shortly after she went missing, but found no record of any calls or texts after the party.

"I think the phone went dead pretty quickly after she was last seen," Dolson said.

Staff Writer Mariecar Mendoza and City News Service contributed to this report.